Mitarashi Dango
by MariiKo
Summary: "I will become the best shinobi in my village!" that is Asako's greatest wish. As her village got attacked one night she loses everything she loves. Asako learns about her family's dark secrets and meets other ninjas who will change her life completely. (Please r&r)
1. The Kikuhana Clan

**Wow, I never thought about writing a Naruto story but now... Well, here it is.  
The story takes place three years before Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura passed their Genin examinations. Some translations of the Japanese words are at the bottom of the chapter. If you have any other questions please ask me.  
**

**Please tell me what you think :)**

* * *

**Mitarashi Dango**

_**Take no Kuni, the land of bamboo. A small country between Yu no Kuni and Ta no Kuni. 150 years of war left its mark on the country. A war between three shinobi families, the heads of the country; the Sakagami clan, the Tachibana clan, and the strongest one, the Kikuhana clan. Every clan fought for the sole reign of the land of bamboo. Thousands of people and Shinobi died in the war until the day where the Kikuhana clan used their strongest technique, their special Gekkei Genkai, a Jutsu which destroyed almost the whole country. Even though the Jutsu was so dangerous, and destroyed everything it ended the war and piece returned to Take no Kuni. The three clans found a solution, every family founded their own village. So, the three Ninja villages Wasabigakkure of the Sakagami clan, Morigakkure of the Tachibana clan, and Chikuringakkure of the Kikuhana clan. But there was one demand: The Kikuhana clan had to seal their Jutsu so it would never could be used again. **_

_**Fifty years after the war ended, the three clans support each other. The three villages of the land of bamboo lived together in piece. The Kekkei Genkai of the Kikuhana clan had disappeared and almost nobody knows what happened with the Jutsus.  
But the Kikuhana clan is still a very powerful family with a huge knowledge about weapons, poison, and herbs. Every person of the family was a shinobi but still, their tasks were separated strictly. The women of the clan had the responsibility of the herbs and clan pharmacies while the men very busy with creating and building weapons.**_

_**There was just one member of the family who didn't accept this rule...**_

**Chapter 1: The Kikuhana Clan  
**

"Calm down, and breathe..." the fourteen-years old Genin, Asako mumbled, aiming at a small black plate on a tree trunk which stood about twenty meters away from her. She took some Shuriken in her hands and made a step backward. Quickly, she jumped and threw the Shuriken at the plate, hitting it every single time. All Shuriken stuck in the small plate. Asako made another jump, pulled out a scroll of her little bag, and opened it. A chain sickle appeared out of the scroll, Asako grabbed it and threw the sickles at the tree trunk. The chain wrapped around it and the sharps blades of the sickles cut the wood through. Asako pulled on the chain and ripped off the tree trunk. Asako pulled out her sword of the sheath and threw it at the tree trunk. It also hit the middle of the black plate on it.  
The girl landed on the ground again. A smile stretched out on the girl's mouth. "I did it!" she jumped in joy. Asako's brown almost red long hair danced in the wind, it almost reached her hips. The young Kunoichi wore a grey skirt, under it black short pants, a dark blue kimono top, knee-savers, and black shoes. And a black headband with the sign of Chikuringakkure on it. Asako trained in a hidden area behind her village, the huge meadow was hidden between a forest, some waterfalls and a huge bamboo grove. It was her favorite place to practice her Jutsus or to train with her weapons.  
Asako smiled. She went to the part of the tree she had cut off and pulled her Shuriken and her Katana sword out of the wood. "He, I'm getting better and better. Maybe I can defeat Ry- Aaaah!" she screamed as someone shoved her. That someone quickly wrapped her arms around Asako.

"Umeko!" Asako yelled at the small person.

"Onee-chan!" a little girl grinned at Asako, with other words: Asako's little sister, Umeko. Umeko chuckled, hugging her sister tightly. "Did you skip your class again? Mom will be very angry," the little girl said. Umeko, a seven-year old girl, with brown hair which was bound into two pigtails. She was actually always smiling as long as she was with her favorite and only sister Asako.

Asako sighed, shaking her head. "I have much more important things to do. For example training with the weapons. I finally mastered the chain sickle today. I will train as much as possible to become the strongest ninja and the head of the Kikuhana clan!" the girl exclaimed, turning her hands into fists in determination.

"Well... but first you have to explain that you skipped class again," Umeko said, crossing her arms.

"No, I won't," Asako replied.

Umeko raised one of her eyebrows. "And why?"

"I'm not going to tell her about it. And she is not going to find out. Because we both won't say anything to her," Asako said, benting down to her little sister.

"But I could tell her..." Asako cut her sister off.

"No, Umeko. You won't tell her anything. Because otherwise... I'm going to eat all my Mitarashi Dangos alone. I know that you just want to get my dumplings. And okay, I will give you the half of my dangos but you have to keep quiet about the class-skipping-thing," Asako said, grinning. "Deal?"

Umeko tapped her finger on her chin, thinking about that offer. "Hm...if I get the all of your Dangos..." she said, glancing at her sister.

Asako growled but forced herself to smile. "Okay...that's a deal...you little cheater," she mumbled the last words under her breath. _Little kids are the worst. They know every single of your weak spots and corrupt you with that. Little pests... _Asako thought. She hated her little sister's sense for corruption but actually she loved her. And Umeko loved Asako. Asako was Umeko's idol, she was the best older sister on earth in Umeko's opinion. Asako went to a huge rock in the near of the waterfall, she had her bag there. Asako pulled out a small wooden box with Dangos in it. She actually loved the sweet tasting dumplings just like her sister. Umeko quickly grabbed some and threw them into her mouth. The two girls sat down on the rock. Umeko grinned and chuckled, she smiled while chewing.

"You know..." Umeko muttered. "Mom and dad will never allow you to become the head of the family. It's Ryuji's fate to become the clan leader," Umeko said. She grabbed another Dango skewer and bit into the sweet dumplings.

Asako sighed and growled. "I know... I hate the family rules. At least I have this one here because I'm one of the greatest ninja in our village..." she said, grabbing her long Katana. The sword handle was blue and black, and the hand protection had the shape of a chrysanthemum flower, the family crest of the Kikuhana clan. Asako looked at her sword and turned it around.

"No. You just got that sword because you are one of the clan leader's children," Umeko said, rather uninterested.

Asako almost hit the ground with her face. "Do you always have to correct me? I know why! You always know everything better, don't you!?" Asako sighed. She stood up again and put the Katana into the sheath again, binding it to her bag. "Umeko?" she asked her sister.  
Umeko gave her a small glance.  
"May I get one of the skewers with the Dangos?" Asako asked, as she heard her stomach rumbling. She folded her hands and begged her sister to.

"Okay..." Umeko said, handing her one skewer.

Asako ate the three Dangos with one bite. She patted Umeko's head. Umeko leaned herself on her sister as Asako put an arm around her. Asako smiled at her little sister. "I think it's time to go back to the village," she said. Asako sat down on the ground and mentioned Umeko to jump on her back. Umeko laughed and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck. Asako carried her piggyback style. "Are you ready? That's going to be very fast," she said.

Umeko nodded. "Yes!" she exclaimed.

Asako quickly grabbed her bag and her sword and started running towards the forest. She jumped on one of a tree's branches and jumped from tree to tree. Umeka was just happy, she loved such adventures together with her sister. Asako tried to become faster and jumped on branches which were farther away. She did some somersaults before she landed on another branch. Seeing some of the buildings of Chikuringakkure, Asako ran up a tree until she saw the whole village. Chikuringakkure, a small and very traditional village hidden between forests and bamboo groves. Even though it was rather small it had some strong shinobi and kunoichi. In the middle of the village was the ninja academy of Chikuringakkure. The hospital was at the other end of the village. Traditional wooden houses filled the village, it was quite busy in the streets. Asako jumped on the ground and let her sister down. They walked along the streets of Chikuringakkure until they reached the end of it. Behind it was a huge residential area which belonged to the Kikuhana clan.  
As Asako wanted to push the door to the house open, she didn't expect the next event. The door got kicked open from inside and almost hit Asako.

"What do you think you are doing?!" a woman yelled loudly as she grabbed Asako's collar. To say the truth, that woman was Umeko's and Asako's mother; Satsuko Kikuhana. A very proud woman with a huge knowledge about medicine, poison, and about every herb in the world. But also a very tempered woman, she was the wife of the family head Kosuke Kikuhana. She shook Asako in every direction while yelling at her. "You really skipped your lessons again! You will never become a good kunoichi!" she screamed at the girl.

Asako gulped. "I'...I'm sorry...very sorry..." she stuttered before her mother let her fall down. Asako landed on the ground with a 'thud', feeling very dizzy. "Sumimasen!"

"Mom, Asako practiced with her weapons again," Umeko said, pointing at her sister.

Asako's mouth dropped open. _Little telltale..._ she thought about her sister. "You promised me not to tell anything! Traitor!"

"Silence!" her mother yelled. "Is that true?" Satsuko asked. "Asako, how many times do I have to tell you? You are responsible for the herbs in our pharmacy. It's an important job but you... you are just wasting your time. You will lead the pharmacy one day, it's an honor but you don't seem to understand it. I think you don't want to understand it. You are a daughter of the Kikuhana clan. Don't waste your time with dreaming about..." Satsuko stopped, she didn't know what to say.

"About...?" Asako asked curiously.

"Silence!" Satsuko yelled again causing Asako and also Umeko to jump. "I've heard from your teacher that you skipped your lessons very often in the last time," Asako's mother said.

Asako sighed in annoyance. "Yes, because I already know everything! It's just boring. I just love practicing new Jutsus! I mean if something would happen to the village I have to be strong to defend myself, my family and the village!" she complained. "And it's also mean of you. Ryuji always gets interesting jobs and missions and I have to stay here, have to learn the name of this herb and this herb and I never do something really... exciting! I'm just bored!" she pouted.

Sighing, Satsuko stopped yelling at her daughter. "You will never change... but if you really want to get an exciting mission, I've got a very exciting job for you," Satsuko grinned.

"Really?" Asako asked with wide eyes.

"Yes," her mom said. "Really."

**...**

"I've got a very exciting job for you..." Asako imitated her mother. "That's sooo mean!" she screamed. Asako had to clean the pharmacy building of the Kikuhana clan. It was an old building with five rooms, in two rooms herbs were stored and in the other ones, the women of the clan worked here. They mixed herbs, produced poison, medicine, and other drugs. Asako grabbed the broom and swept the floor. Her head was red in anger and she almost broke the broom into two pieces. "Umeko...I thought you will be quiet. Little...pest...telltale...brat..." she cursed.  
"Seriously!? My life couldn't be more boring!" Asako pouted. She threw the broom away and sat down on the ground.

She leaned back on one of the shelves, crossing her arms. "Why can't they just let me do something interesting? Do they really expect that I will stay in this damn pharmacy forever? Ruyji is so lucky. I wish we could swap," Asako said, closing her eyes and dreaming again.

"That's a bad idea, sister," a voice said.

Asako's eyes shot open. She jumped to her feet, and continued sweeping. "Did mother send you here to watch over me?" Asako asked her brother who entered the room.

"Actually yes... but don't worry, I'm on your side," Ryuji said. He was the older brother of Asako and Umeko, he was four years older than Asako. Ryuiji was the main heir of the clan. And he was the reason for Asako's boredom and her slight anger. It was normal in the Kikuhana clan that the oldest son would get the heir when he was old enough. Daughters just should work in the pharmacy for the clan. So Asako was forbidden to become stronger than him. She was angry because of that rule but what should she do against it?  
"Umeko told me about your training," Ruyji said, crossing his arms.

"This little telltale...I am going to kill her," Asako mumbled with anger.

"I don't think you can do that. Umeko knows every single secret we have, she can use them against us. Little sisters are annoying...sometimes," the boy chuckled.

"To remind you. I'm also one of your younger sisters," Asako hissed, sweeping the room. She turned her back to her brother in annoyance.

Ryuji walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. He held something in front of the girl's face. "But younger sisters are also nice. That's from Umeko as excuse," he said, showing Asako a little wooden box. He opened it. Three skewers with dangos were in it. "Umeko knew you would be hungry," Ryuji chuckled.

"Oh...Umeko I love you!" Asako said, grabbing the dangos. "You know, I just love Mitarashi Dango!" she said with a full mouth.

"That's actually obvious," Ryuji laughed. "I will leave you alone now. You should hurry up before Oka-san gives you another work as punishment. She is pretty upset today," her brother said.

"I know," Asako swallowed the dangos. "I can't understand why dad-"

"Asako! Go back to work!" a voice yelled loudly. It was Satsuko Kikuhana again. She had found out about Asako's little break.

Asako twitched. "Oh dear. You should leave now or else you also could be p...wait, just stay here," Asako said.

"Really funny," Ryuji rolled his eyes. "I will see you at dinner. Don't come to late and...have fun with cleaning," Ryuji said as he ran out of the house. He knew why he ran away. After the last sentence Asako threw the broom at him. He just laughed.

The girl crossed her arms. "He is such an..." she mumbled. She went over to the broom and continued sweeping the room. It wasn't the only work she had to do, she also had to clean all tubes with the herbs, then she had to clean the equipment and bring it into order again. Actually a simple job but because of the mass of equipment it would take a while. Asako stopped sweeping. She leaned herself on the broom. "That is so..."

"Asako!" her mother yelled.

Asako jumped. She continued cleaning up. She was actually scared a bit. Her mother sometimes could be very angry and mean.  
"That's mean... I wish something could happen. I don't want to be here for the rest of my life" she mumbled more to herself.

* * *

**That was the first chapter. The next one will come soon.  
Please review :)  
**

***Ta no Kuni = Land of the rice fields (Otogakkure is there)  
*Onee-chan = Sister  
*Dango/Mitarashi Dango = Japanese dumplings.  
*Chikuringakkure = Village hidden behind the bamboo groves**

**See you next time :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto!**


	2. Secret Discovery

**Here is chapter 2. Enjoy reading it and please review.**

* * *

**Mitarashi Dango**

**Chapter 2: Secret Discovery **

The water which fell down of the waterfall splashed into a small lake. The noise of the waterfall was loud. But Asako didn't care about it, she concentrated herself on the falling water. While standing on the water of the lake, she did some hand signs and held her hand on her mouth. "Ninpo: Mizurappa!" Asako yelled. She spat out a huge water jet which almost reached the waterfall. The young kunoichi pulled her Katana sword out of its sheath and aimed at the water. She swung her sword with all her might. The shock wave split the way of the water jutsu in two ways for a couple of seconds. "Damn it..." Asako cursed. "It has to split completely!" she shouted. Asako turned her hands into fists and started a new attempt.  
"Ninpo! Mizurappa!" Asako yelled and spat out another water jet.

She waved with her sword and let the water jet split again. But it was just split to the half.

Asako stomped her feet on the ground and turned her hands into fists. "Damn, damn, damn it!" she shouted. Asako did the same hand signs like before, she put her hand in front of her mouth and spit out a huge wave of water. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" she yelled. Asako grabbed her sword, pulled it out of its sheath and aimed at the water jet. She waved it around, causing a huge shock wave. The shock wave hit the water jet and split it completely. The shock wave didn't even split just the water, it also split the waterfall into to ways for a short moment.  
Asako was thrown backwards a few meters, she stared at the waterfall impressed. "Yeah! I did it!" Asako jumped in joy. "I'm the best!" she yelled.

"Onee-chan!" a voice yelled.

"Oh, the little spy is back," Asako mumbled. Her mood changed immediately. She turned around and walked over the water to the shore. A bush next to the small lake rustled and out of the sudden, Umeko jumped out. She hugged her sister tightly. "It's okay, Umeko!" Asako said, trying to get out of her little sister's hug.

"Onee-chan! Good work! That was amazing!" Umeko yelled impressed by her sister's jutsus.

Asako grinned confidently. "Oh, that was nothin!" she said, proudly about herself.

"Onee-chan, did you skip your lessons today again?" Umeko asked curiously.

"No," Asako said, shaking her head. "Today I went to school...but it was so boring. But at least mother won't be mad at me again. By the way, Umeko... what are you doing here?" Asako asked, suspecting something. She knew her little sister better than anyone else.

Umeko let go of her sister. She kicked her foot on the ground and looked down. "Well...sister?"

Asako raised one of her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Do you still have some Dangos?" Umeko asked. "I'm really hungry..." she said, wrapping her arms around her belly, her stomach started rumbling after she used the word 'Dango'. Umeko blushed slightly, she was a bit embarrassed because she didn't want to beg her for some dumplings. "Please, sister!" Umeko sobbed, hugging her sister again.

The brown-haired kunoichi sighed. "Okay.." she shook her head. Asako walked over to a huge rock, next to it laid her backpack. She pulled out a wooden box with Dangos inside. Asako gave her sister one of the sticks with Dangos. Umeko ate them with a big smile. Her mouth was covered in the sweet sauce of the Dangos. Asako also grabbed one of the sticks and ate the first Dango of it. "Umeko, waht are you doing here exactly? I know, you aren't here just to eat my food," she said, eating the second dumpling of the stick.

Umeko explained while chewing. "Ryuji sent me here," she muttered.

"Ryuiji? And what does he want?" Asako asked, eating the last Dango. Suddenly, a Kunai was thrown at her. It split the stick of the Dangos into two pieces. Asako's hand was shaking, she didn't expect such an attack so suddenly. She started growling. "Ryuji!? Are you crazy?! The Kunai could have hit me! Come out there, now!" she yelled angrily.

A laugh came out of the forest. A young person jumped off a tree and landed next to Umeko and Asako. It was their brother Ryuji. He chuckled slightly. "Your reaction should have been better, Asako," he grinned. "I thought you would catch the knife." Ryuji put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Really funny! What happened if the Kunai would have hit me! Are you out of your mind?! Why would you attack your own sister?!" Asako screamed, grabbing Ryuji's collar. She glared at him with wide eyes and an angry expression. Ryuji just stepped back, he couldn't help but laughing.

"Sorry, sis," Asako's brother said, scratching his head. "Actually, I have got a mission for you," he explained,

"Really?" Asako asked, her eyes widened.

Ryuji nodded with a serious expression. "Yes, it's a very dangerous A-rank mission. Just for you," the young man said. "Are you ready for it?" he asked.

Asako nodded wildly. "Yes!"

"Really?" Ryuji asked.

"Yes!" Asako screamed, raising her fists.

"Great," Ryuji smiled. "You have to..." he said.

"Yes?" Asako asked, she wanted to know it so badly.

Ryuji handed her a wooded box he had hidden behind his back before. "You have to bring this down to the old woman's shop," Ryuji said.

The corner of Asako's mouth started twitching. She glared at her brother. "You little...you did this on purpose!" she hissed. Asako grabbed the box, her backpack, swung it over her shoulder and turned around. "I will be back in one hour," she said. Asako made a big jump and landed on one of a tree's branches. She jumped from branch to branch and headed for the lower village. The lower village was a small village where normal people lived, no shinobis. But there were shops for food, the real pharmacy shop of the Kikuhana clan. The lower village was in a small valley, behind the bamboo groves. It wasn't hidden in the nature like Chikuringakkure. But the shinobi and kunoichi of Chikuringakkure.  
Asako cursed silently, while walking through the bamboo forest, she walked down the hill to the lower village. "Ryuji...so stupid...he always loves annoying me...stupid br.. oh well," she muttered angrily. Asako stomped down the hill until she already saw the roofs of the houses. The young kunoichi jumped on the next tree and jumped from tree to tree until she arrived in the lower village.

She went down the rocky path until she arrived in the village. Asako went into the small village to a shop which was owned by an old woman, she knew Asako since the girl was born. Asako entered the small shop, she saw the old woman standing behind the counter.  
"Hello, I got your order," Asako said.

The old woman walked over to her slowly. "Oh, Asako-chan, how nice of you," she said. "Please, put the box in the corner.

Asako did as she was told.

"How are you, Asako-chan?" the woman asked.

"Quite fine," Asako replied. "At the moment I am practicing my jutsus," she told her proudly.

The old woman smiled lovely. "That's a good girl but don't forget your school. You are already a strong kunoichi. Here, I've got something for you," the woman said. Slowly, she walked over to a small shelf and picked up a small scroll. "This is an empty scroll for weapons. I know that you already have some but I thought you could use it," she said, handing Asako the yellow scroll.

Asako bowed. "Thank, I will use it for sure."

"Asa-chan, did you hear about our neighbors' activities?" the old woman asked.

Shaking her head, Asako raised one eyebrow. "You mean the Sakagami clan and the Tachibana clan? What's about them?" she asked curiously.

"It's said that they infiltrate into the others villages to get secret information. Something is wrong, they are planning something bad," the old woman told her.

Asako shrugged with her shoulders. "That's weird. Wouldn't my father know about it? Why didn't he tell me about it? I don't understand this..." she sighed.

"Be careful and keep an eye on your surroundings. I just heard the information from some traveling shinobi. I didn't have the purpose to listen to their conversation but they were buying tea in my shop, so I was able to listen to them," the old woman told Asako, she made a worried face.

The young Genin crossed her arms over her chest. "Well... I have to now. But thank you for the information," she said. The old woman nodded, she waved with her hand.

Asako walked out of the shop, thinking back at the old woman's words. She was worried about it, was it true? Did the other clans in Take no Kuni really plan to attack another village? They had actually agreed to the peace contract. So, why would the Sakagami clan and the Tachibana clan hide something from the Kikuhana clan? Asako ran up the hill again, she came into the bamboo groves again. Asako went right back to her training place at the waterfall. Her sister and her brother were already gone.

The kunoichi sat down on the grass. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Weird...why would the other clans do something like this.." she mumbled more to herself. Asako let herself fall backwards, she laid in the grass, watching the water of the waterfall falling down. Asako grabbed her sword and aimed at the water again but without the intention to practice her attacks again. She just looked at her sword, at the hand protection, the form of a chrysanthemum flower. The young ninja sighed. Asako noticed a small rock jutting out, she stood up and walked to a different place. The rock in the water caught her attention for some way. Asako walked to the stone slope next to the waterfall. She concentrated chakra into her feet and ran up the slope. She dashed up the slope until she arrived at the top of the small hill. She watched the river how it ended at the corner of the slope. Asako pulled out a weapon scroll of her bag she had on her hip. She opened the scroll and summoned her chain sickle. Asako grabbed the weapon. She concentrated on the waterfall. Asako jumped on the flowing water and ran down until she jumped over the waterfall's end. She fell down. After seeing the jutting rock Asako turned around and threw her chain sickle at it. The chain wrapped around the stone, it stopped Asako from falling. The shinobi hung on her chain, she climbed up until she was on the rock. The water split over her, it was like a tunnel. Asako's curiosity was awakened now. She ducked and went through the water. Asako arrived inside a small cave. It was small but still large enough for a human to walk inside.

Asako walked deeper inside the cave. "Wow...that's cool..." she said impressed. The young kunoichi went deeper, she found some weird notches at the walls. No natural notches, they seemed like they were made from humans. Asako noticed a wooden torch hanging on the wall. She took it carefully. Asako took her sword out of the sheath and stroke it on the wall, the sparks which were caused lit the oily top of the torch. It caught fire and lit up the cave, Asako was able to see everything now. She walked further into the cave. Singe water drops dropped from the stone ceiling.

"What..." Asako mumbled as she stepped in front of a stone wall. The way ended here. Just a huge stone wall was in front of the young girl. A new notch caught her attention. It looked like a flower, a chrysanthemum flower. It was the crest of her family. Asako found some little cracks inside the notch. One was deep, too deep for a natural notch and it had a small deepening around. Inside the deepening was another flower notch. Asako's eyes shot open. She quickly grabbed her Katana and pushed the blade inside the crack, it perfectly fit inside. The hand protection of the sword fit into the deepening. Asako turned her sword around with her whole might. It was difficult but the wall made a strange noise. it sounded like it would break down but the wall slowly moved aside instead.

The Katana was a key for the wall to open.

Asako smiled. "Yes...It's becoming more interesting now..." the girl mumbled.

She went through the tunnel until she arrived in the end of the cave. it was a room. A room made by humans. Inside the room, wooden bookshelves were standing. Asako found more torches in the room, she lit them up. "That's a secret room of the Kikuhana clan..." Asako was almost speechless. She mumbled the words more to herself. Since when did her family have such a secret room? Asako walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out a really old and dusty book, she blew the dust away and opened it. A list of jutsus was inside, forbidden jutsus. Asako skipped the single pages quickly. The book was full of forbidden techniques. Asako shook her head to catch her mind. She put the book away and grabbed a nearby scroll, she opened it and read what was written inside.

"That's...the forbidden Kekkei Genkai..." she mumbled in shock. Asako dropped to her knees. "I thought they sealed the Kekkei Genkai after the war..." she muttered. "Why does it appear here again?" Asako looked at the scroll, reading more of it. "The Kekkei Genkai, the Shakugan, is sealed in the next family head's child with the strongest chakra...Ryuji.." Asako thought about her brother. He was the one who knows the forbidden technique? "Ryuji has the Kekkei Genkai?" Asako asked herself. Asako grabbed another scroll, she found some more jutsus of the Kikuhana clan. She found something interesting, the Takerou no Jutsu, the jutsu of the bamboo prison. She found a list of bamboo jutsus. The bamboo prison technique, the bamboo grave jutsu, and the bamboo spear jutsu.

Asako looked around. "But what about the Kekkei Genkai? There is nothing about...the Shakugan..." she said, grabbing another book and looking into it. She couldn't find anything. Asako put all books and scrolls back into the shelf. With the exception of the scroll with the bamboo techniques. She packed the scroll into her little bag. Asako quickly grabbed all her things, cleared the fire of the torches and ran out of the secret room. She ran back to the entrance of the cave. Asako looked down to the water in the lake. She grabbed her chain sickle again, thew it at the slope, it stuck into the ground. Asako swung to the slope with the chain. She landed on the ground and jumped down. The girl was out of breath but more for the reason that she found her family's forbidden jutsus.

She shook her head. "That is not possible..." Asako sighed. "I stole a scroll of my family.." she muttered shocked. Asako grabbed the scroll out of her bag. She opened it again.

"Onee-chan!" a voice yelled.

Asako put the scroll back into the bag as she heard her sister's voice. She saw her brother Ryuji carrying Umeko piggyback style and running over to Asako. He stopped in front of Asako. "Sister, it's already late. Mother wanted me to pick you up now. Dinner is ready," he said.

"O-okay... tell her I will come in ten minutes," Asako stuttered. She tried to hide her nervousness. Ryuji nodded with a weird expression. He ran back to the village with Umeko.

Asako suddenly slapped her own cheek. "Am I crazy! Why did I steal the scroll! But..." she muttered. Asako grabbed the scroll again. "What is behind the Shakugan?" she mumbled. Asako opened the scroll again. She looked around to make sure that nobody was watching her. Asako ran into the forest and ran down the hill to the bamboo groves. She stopped on a small glade. Asako looked into the scroll, she read about the first jutsu, the Takerou no Jutsu, the bamboo prison jutsu. Asako did the hand signs how it was described in the scroll. She quickly did the hand signs again. "Takerou no Jutsu!" she yelled. She concentrated her chakra into her ground. Suddenly, sharp bamboo rods shot out of the ground, they formed to a little prison. Asako stepped back in shock. Her mouth hung open. She couldn't believe that she mastered a forbidden jutsu within a couple of minutes. Asako grabbed the scroll again, reading about the next jutsu, the Takeyari no Jutsu, the bamboo spear technique. She did the hand signs she had to do for this jutsu and concentrated her chakra again. Bamboos pears shot out of the ground and drilled into a nearby tree. The tree was almost completely destroyed. A human would have died after getting hit by this jutsu.

"Wow..." Asako mumbled. She remembered her brother's words. It was already late. Her parents waited for her. Asako stopped her 'forbidden' training. She packed the scroll into her bag once again. Asako jumped on the branch of a tree and jumped from tree to tree. She ran back to her village. The sky already changed its color to a light orange one. Asako ran back to her house, she dashed inside the dining room, finding her family there, her mother, father, and her siblings were already eating dinner.

"You are late, Asako," her mother said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"I know, sorry," Asako said, sitting down next to her little sister. She took her chopsticks and started eating her rice. A slight tension was in the room, her father didn't talk and her mother neither. Usually they were talking about their days and what happened but this time there was silence. Asako felt uncomfortable. She quickly ate her food. Asako stood up again. "I'm in my room now," she said and went away hastily. Her parents wondered a bit about her reaction but they kept silent.  
Asako dashed into her room, a traditional tatami room. In the middle was a little table, around the table sitting pillows. A little vase stood in the corner next to a bookshelf. Asako emptied her little bag, she quickly put the forbidden scroll into the vase, hiding it there. Nobody was allowed to know about it. Asako packed her bag again. She sighed. "I'm in big trouble... tomorrow I will bring back the scroll, so nobody will notice something," she whispered to herself.

**...later...**

Asako sat in the bathtub. She took a nice hot bath to calm down. The girl was more than worried about the secret room she had found. Asako slid deeper into water. "I'm so stupid..." she mumbled into the water, little bubbles appeared on the surface in front of her face. _I shouldn't have take the scroll. But what is the Shakugan?_ Asako thought. She couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

"Onee-chan!" Umeko yelled, throwing the door open.

"Umeko!" Asako said in shock.

Her sister ran into the bathroom, surprising Asako. Asako became red around her cheeks. "Didn't you learn to knock before entering the bathroom?!" she yelled.

"Sorry, sis," Umeko said with a smile. "But mum said you have to hurry up. I also have to take a bath now," Umeko explained.

"Then go out and wait until I'm done!" Asako yelled at her. Umeko lowered her head, she slowly went out of the bathroom and closed the door again. Asako sighed in annoyance, she was really surprised by her sister's sudden invasion. Asako stood up and let the water out of the bathtub. She grabbed a nearby towel and dried her body and her hair. Asako wrapped the towel around her body. As soon as the water was out, she let fresh water fill the tub for her sister. Asako opened the door to the bathroom. "Umeko! You can come now!" she exclaimed through the corridor. Steps could be heard, Umeko ran out of her room and dashed into the bathroom again.

"Yay!" Umeko yelled. Somehow she was happy all the time. She always had a smile on her face.

Asako looked at herself in the mirror. Meanwhile her sister took of her clothes and jumped into the bathtub. Asako took her own hair and bound it into a ponytail. She noticed her little birthmark on her back, it was between her shoulder blades. But for some reason it wasn't as small as before. "Umeko... did the mark on my back grow? Or is it just my imagination?" she asked her sister.

"Dunno..." Umeko muttered, looking at Asako. "Maybe..." the little girl said.

Asako raised her eyebrow. She tried to turn her head more to take a better look but she couldn't. Asako shook her head, she thought she would already hallucinate. The kunoichi left the bathroom, she walked down the corridor to her room. Asako let the towel fall down, she put on her sleeping kimono for the night. For some reason she touched her back again, trying to touch the point where she had her birthmark.  
Asako opened the closet and pulled out the futon mattress. She build up her futon bed and crawled under her blanket, she was tired from the hard day. Asako tried to sleep but she couldn't.

The kunoichi heard some noises from outside the room. Umeko just went to bed. She waited to hear her brother to go to bed but she didn't hear anything. Maybe he would stay up a bit longer.

A couple of hours passed. Asako was asleep but woke up as she heard some voices. She sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She noticed her parents' voices. Her father was yelling. Asako silently stood up and sneaked out of her room. Her sister was sleeping peacefully in the room next to Asako's. She heard her parents inside the living room. Someone was with them. Asako silently sneaked over to the stairs and went downstairs. She didn't do a single noise. She sneaked in front of the door to the living room, it was opened a small crack. She looked through the crack. She saw her parents, her brother Ryuji and two other shinobi from her village sitting in the room. The shinobis were ninjas of Chikuringakkure and of the Kikuhana clan. High-ranked ninjas, Jonin.

"Find the thief!" Asako's father yelled.

The two Jonin bowed. "Yes, Kosuke-sama," one of the men said.

"It is a disaster that someone stole one of the forbidden scrolls!" Kosuke Kikuhana yelled, he walked around nervously and hit the wall with his fist. Asako closed her eyes in surprise.

"Calm down, please," her mother Satsuko said to her father.

"There is no way to calm down! If the secret about the jutsus come out there will be war in Take no Kuni again! We can't allow this to happen! And now the other villages are planning something bad against us! A war could break out every time!" he screamed in anger.

One of the Jonin raised his hand. "We think it has to be a member of the Kikuhana family. There are no signs of a burglary," the family member said.

"What?" Kosuke yelled.

Asako twitched, they were talking about her. They found out that a scroll was missing. Asako was the thief.

"The Shakugan was a secret! And it has to stay a secret!" Kosuke yelled. "I don't want even to think about what could happen if..." he paused, Asako's father let out a sigh. He sat down again next to his wife. Ryuji who sat at the other side kept silence. He made a serious face and bit his tongue.

"Do you think it is time to tell her?" Satsuko asked.

"No. We can't do this," Kosuke argued. "She shouldn't know about it. The bearer of the Shakugan shouldn't know about it. It would just bring harm and danger to her," he said.

_Her? _Asako thought. _Who is 'her'?_

As the Jonin stood up, Asako moved back. The ninja wanted to leave the house. She quickly ran back upstairs and ran back into her room. Asako crawled under blanket again. She was panting heavily. She was shocked by the conversation she had heard. "What is happening here?" she asked herself. She held on her breath as she heard footsteps. Her brother just entered his room and went to bed. Asako gasped for air again. Her mind was spinning around like crazy.  
"Who is the bearer of the Kekkei Genkai?" she whispered to herself.

* * *

**Hope you liked it. Please review :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Naruto (c)Masashi Kishimoto!**


	3. Nightly Attack

**Mitarashi Dango**

**Chapter 3: Nightly Attack**

"Ninpo: Dokukiri!" Asako yelled, exhaling a huge purple gas cloud made of poison. She jumped away to escape the poison. Asako sighed while panting, she was practicing her jutsus for the whole day now. Actually, she had other problems to take care about but Asako was kind of scared. Her family had found about the stolen scroll but they didn't know that Asako was the thief. "That's bad..." Asako mumbled. She couldn't even bring back the scroll because of one reason: her sister.  
Asako was told to watch Umeko for the whole day. Her sister was with her every single second.  
_I can't even send a clone to the cave, Umeko notices everything. Little brat... _Asako thought.

"Great, Onee-chan!" Umeko yelled, clapping her hands together. She was impressed by her sister's jutsus.

Asako let out a sigh. "Thanks...Umeko..." she mumbled, glancing up to the cave behind the waterfall. "Well... don't you want to go back and ask Ryuji if he could practice with your Shuriken?" Asako asked with a nice smile, trying to get her sister away from this place.

Umeko shook her head rapidly. "No," she said. It was a clear answer.

Asako lowered her head a bit.

"Hey, Onee-chan," Umeko asked. "Do you know that mum and dad had an argument in the morning?" the little girl wanted to know. Asako shook her head, she knew about the meeting in the last night but not about an argument. She had left the house early in the morning. Umeko crossed her arms. "Then I will tell you. Mum and dad complained at Ryuji, they said he had done something bad," Umeko told her sister. "They said he had stolen something forbidden," Umeko said.

Asako's heart almost stopped beating. _They think...Ryuji is the thief? Oh god. But it was me! Crap..._ Asaku gulped deeply. Her hands started shaking. "Did they say something else?" rapidly, she wanted to know.

Umeko shook her head. "No," she replied. "I couldn't hear everything," she said.

"Little spy," Asako said to her sister.

"Thank you," Umeko replied to Asako's compliment. At least it was a compliment for Umeko. "Onee-chan, I'm hungry," Umeko sobbed with a rumbling stomach.

Shrugging with her shoulders, Asako shook her head. "But I don't have anything to eat here," she said. "Not even Dangos." Asako looked around. She had a bad feeling in her stomach because of the scroll and her brother. It was all Asako's fault. She actually wanted to die now, it was just a horrible situation. Asako bit her lip, glancing to the waterfall again. "Hey, Umeko? What about playing Hide and Seek?" the brown almost red-haired kunoichi asked her sister.

Umeko nodded, she turned her hands into fists. "Yes!" she yelled. "You have to count!" the young girl screamed, already running away. "And don't cheat!" she reminded her sister. Umeko ran into the bamboo groves, leaving her sister behind. Asako closed her eyes tightly and started counting. She counted until she reached the number 20 and opened her eyes again. Asako walked towards the groves, she walked through the bamboo forest, searching for her sister. Asako looked around, she suddenly heard some leaves rustling. The kunoichi turned around and walked down the bamboo hill. Between the bamboo plants was a huge tree. Asako rolled her eyes, she walked around the tree, jumped on one of the branches and climbed higher, finding her sister between some branches. Asako didn't even say something. Her sister just sighed. "Okay... it's my turn now," she pouted. Umeko carefully climbed on Asako's back, the kunoichi jumped off the branch and landed on the ground like a feather. She let her sister down.  
"Okay, you have to hide now," Umeko said.

Asako nodded, she ran away as soon as her sister closed her eyes to count. Asako knew a good place to hide, she ran up to the bamboo hill. Actually, she had other plans. Asako did some finger signs and created a clone. "Go to the cave and bring the scroll back!" she ordered, Asako handed the stolen scroll to the clone. The fake Asako nodded and ran to the waterfall.

"I got you!" Umeko said, wrapping her arms around Asako.

The kunoichi raised one of her eyebrows. "Hey, you haven't even finished counting!" she said, crossing her arms.

"Sorry..." Umeko lowered her head.

Umeko ran back to the place where she was before. Asako ran into the woods, hiding between some small plants. For the rest of the day they played hide and seek, Asako was sure that the clone would bring the scroll back like she had ordered. Everything would be fine. And nobody would find out about Asako's secret.

**...**

"Gotcha!" Asako said, grabbing her sister's arm. The little girl pouted a bit because she got caught that fast. "Okay, that's enough playing. Let's go home, it's already getting dark, and I don't want to get in trouble just because we are late," Asako said, looking up to the dark-colored sky. Her sister nodded, she honestly didn't agree to her sister's suggestion but she didn't want to cause any trouble. Asako and Umeko walked up the hill. Meanwhile, the dark red color of the sky changed to a black one. The day came to an end, the moon already appeared on the sky and some stars shined on the firmament.  
Asako and Umeko reached the huge meadow in front of the waterfall again. As Asako stepped around one bamboo plant she found Ryuji standing on the meadow, he walked closer to his sisters. "Hey brother," Asako greeted him with a smile. Ryuji didn't respond. He kept looking seriously at her. Asako stepped back slightly. "Something wrong?" she asked. "I know we are late, sorry..."the kunoichi said. Ryuji's expression didn't change, it actually hardened. He growled angrily and gritted his teeth. Ryuji lifted his hand up, holding something in front of Asako's face. A scroll, the scroll Asako had stolen.  
"Ryuji...you..." Asako gasped in shock.

"A clone jutsu?" Ryuji growled at her, stepping closer. "You must be out of your mind!" he suddenly yelled. Ryuji grabbed Asako by her collar, pulling her closer roughly.

Umeko's eyes widened. "Onii-chan! Please stop!" she begged.

"What did you think about this! Do you know how much trouble you have caused!?" Ryuji shouted at Asako, pulling on her collar. Asako got kinda scared, she had never seen her brother bursting out that much. Ryuji gritted his teeth. "Asako! Are you crazy!?" he yelled.

Asako stepped back in fear. "Wait! Please, let me explain!" she said.

"There is nothing to explain!" Ryuji screamed. "Do you know what you did?! You have no idea what this scroll means!" Ryuji yelled in anger, he raised his hand to hit Asako. The girl closed her eyes tightly. But nothing happened. Out of the sudden, an annoying noise sounded through the forest. It sounded like a hammer knocking on a metal plate. Ryuji, Asako, and Umeko looked into the direction where the noise came from: the village. It was a warning signal.

Asako gulped. "That's...alarm..." she mumbled.

"The village has been attacked.." Ryuji muttered, he still was in shock for a moment. "We have to help the others!" he yelled, running towards the village.

"Wait!" Asako yelled after him. She rolled her eyes, picked up Umeko and carried her piggyback style. Asako and Ryuji ran towards the forest where the village was behind.

Ryuji turned his head to his sisters. "Asako! Bring Umeko away from here! That's too dangerous!" he yelled.

Asako stopped running, she made a worried face. "But..." she mumbled. Asako looked around hastily. She watched Ryuji disappearing behind the trees of the forest. She had a bad feeling in her stomach. She was about to run into the opposite direction as she heard a loud explosion coming from the middle of the village. Asako was shocked, she saw smoke over the village. It was horrible. "Oh, damn it!" she yelled. "Umeko, hold on tight! We have to help Ryuji!" she yelled, dashing towards the village. Her sister tightly wrapped her arms around her sister's neck. She was shaking in fear. Asako dashed through the woods, seeing some flames at the other end of the forest. She ran even faster at the imagination of her village getting attacked. Asako ran past the trees, she slightly looked up. The night sky was covered by dark clouds, a mysterious and dangerous aura surrounded the village. Asako bit her tongue as she arrived at the end of the forest. The noises of blades, flying Shuriken and screams echoed through the area. Asako stopped and hid herself behind some bushes. She glanced through the small branches of the bush, seeing fighting shinobi. She almost choked on her own spit. It was terrible.

"Onee-chan!" Umeko yelled, out of the sudden.

Asako spun around, seeing four enemies surrounding her and her sister. She gasped in fear.

"Don't even try to escape!" one of the enemies yelled at the girls. The shinobi and his other companions aimed at the girls with their swords and weapons. Asako wrapped her arms around Umeko, trying to protect her. The small girl was trembling.  
Another shinobi yelled at Asako. "Put all your weapons on the ground and don't struggle! We will kill you if you do an unexpected move!" he screamed.

Asako was breathing heavily. With her shaking hand, she grabbed her sword and slowly put it on the ground. She gulped nervously. Asako looked at the head bands of the ninjas, they were from the Wasabigakkure, it was an attack of the Sakagami Clan. The war had begun again.  
"Good girl, and now come over here!" the male shinobi hissed.

Umeko stepped closer to her sister, she was scared. Asako slowly moved forward. She gritted her teeth and in the next moment, she did some hand signs. "Ninpo! Dokukiri!" Asako yelled, exhaling a huge toxic gas cloud. The Wasabi nins jumped away. Asako grabbed Umeko, carrying her on her back and ran away. Some Shuriken and Kunai were thrown at her. Asako dodged them with her Katana sword. She easily got rid of all weapons. Suddenly, another ninja jumped in front of her, he beat into Asako's stomach with the back of his sword. Asako gasped and coughed, for a moment she couldn't breathe. The enemy lifted up his sword and was about to hit Asako with the blade.  
Out of he sudden, some Kunai were thrown at the shinobi. They hit him in his chest, he fell to the ground. The Kunais killed him. Asako watched it in shock. She turned her head around. "Ruyji!" she gasped, as her brother had saved her.

"I told you to run away!" Ryuji yelled in anger. He dodged the attacks of the other enemies, protecting his sisters. "Run away!" he screamed.

Asako nodded, she carried Umeko on her back and jumped up to a branch. She jumped from branch to branch away from this place. Asako turned her head around, seeing her brother fighting against four other ninjas. One of them stabbed Ryuji with a long knife. He stopped moving and fell to the ground. Asako gasped, tears started to develop in her eyes. _NO! No! Ryuji!_ She thought in panic. Asako didn't scream, she didn't make a single noise, she didn't want Umeko to see her dead brother now. Asako covered her mouth with her hand, she got a bad nausea. Asako sobbed silently. She bit her teeth together. _Be strong..."_she thought. Asako jumped from tree to tree and got away from the village.

"Get them!" a voice yelled.

Asako turned around, seeing four other enemies behind her. They were after her and Umeko. Asako gulped, she ran as fast as possible, trying to get away. This time the Shinobis were Morinins, shinobi of the Tachibana Clan. One of the men approached Asako, he almost reached her.  
The young kunoichi made some hand signs. "Takeyari no Jutsu!" she yelled. Out of the sudden, bamboo spears came out of the ground and stabbed the man from all points. The bamboo drilled through his body like a screw through a piece of wood. A drop of blood splashed on Asako's cheek, she was still in shock that she had killed she had to protect herself and especially her little sister.

Her sister's eyes went wide. "Onee-chan! How did you.." she gasped.

"Be quiet and hold on tight!" she told her sister.

Asako gritted her teeth. _That was for Ryuji!_ she screamed into her mind. Asako did the same hand signs again. More bamboo speared appeared out of the ground but they missed the second enemy. "Damn it!" Asako cursed.

"Onee-chan! Behind us!" Umeko yelled.

Asako glanced over her shoulder, seeing a Shinobi from the Tachibana Clan throwing some Shuriken at her. They were about to hit Umeko. Asako couldn't dodge them, but she grabbed the arm of her sister, pulling her off her back. The Shuriken hit Asako in her back, the girl yelped in pain. Asako couldn't jump to the next tree, she missed a branch to jump on. Asako lost her balance and fell down. She and her sister fell down. Umeko screamed in fear. The little girl landed in a huge bush, she didn't hurt herself for her luck. Instead of Asako. The kunoichi fell to the ground and hit it hardly. A sharp pain went through her body as she hit the ground. Asako couldn't move, the shuriken which were stuck in her back sent a huge pain in her body. Asako panted, she groaned.

The enemies jumped to the ground behind Asako. One of the men stepped closer to her. "You were difficult to catch, weren't you. But now, look at yourself. Such a weak little girl," he mocked. Asako gritted her teeth, she tried to crawl away but the shinobi stepped onto her back, causing her to scream. "Stupid girl. You can't escape us," the man hissed.

"Hey, stop wasting time. Just grab the girls and get back," another shinobi said.

"Don't tell me what to do," the shinobi which had attacked Asako with the Shuriken snapped.

Asako tried to reach her Katana sword but she couldn't find it on her back, she must have lost it. The girl looked around, searching for her sword. She found it in a nearby bush, right next to her sister. Asako bit her lip and crawled to her sword's direction. But the shinobi stomped on her back again. Asako screamed loudly.

"That's a bad idea," the man told her.

"Let go of my sister!" Umeko yelled bravely, jumping to her feet.

The Tachibana Ninja laughed at Umeko. "Look at this! A little girl tries to stop us," he snickered. The man ignored Umeko and stepped towards Asako, looking down at her. The girl growled, still laying on the ground. "The famous Kikuhana Clan, a family of weaklings..." he chuckled. "I don't think it will much time to kill you two-... AHH!" he yelped in pain as Umeko beat the blade of Asako's sword into his leg. The wound wasn't deep but painful enough to stop the shinobi. Asako was surprised. Umeko had grabbed her sister's sword and attacked the man to protect her sister.  
"You little brat!" the Tachibana Nin yelled, grabbing his own sword. He reached back with it to hit Umeko.

"No..." Asako shouted, trying to stand up. "Don't!"

"Die!" the man yelled.

"UMEKO!" Asako screamed as loud as she could.

It was too late. The enemy had slit Umeko with the sword. Blood splashed into every direction. Some drops of blood hit Asako's cheeks, her eyes went wide as she saw her sister being killed right in front of her eyes. Asako eyes became water, tears rolled down her cheeks. She forced herself to move forward and caught Umeko's lifeless body. Asako stared at her sister. "Umeko, please open your eyes! Do you hear me... Umeko..." she yelled with a shaking voice. "Umeko! Umeko...I'm so sorry...Umeko..." she sobbed, Asako started crying. She wrapped her arms around her dead sister. "Umeko..." she hugged her. Asako felt Umeko's head falling back. The girl was dead. The drops of blood Asako had on her cheeks slowly rolled over her cheek, her eyes got even wider. While the enemy shinobi were laughing at the girl, Asako cried. She couldn't believe it. She just had lost Umeko and Ryuji in front of her eyes.  
"...stards..." Asako mumbled. She gritted her teeth.

"What did you say? You have to talk louder!" the Tachibana Nin mocked her.

"You bastards!" Asako screamed with tears in her eyes. She grabbed her sword, jumped to her feet and attacked the Ninja who killed her sister. Asako tried to hit him with the blade. She even forgot the pain in her back that the Shuriken caused. She attacked the shinobi without break. Without really controlling her body, Asako cut in the Ninja's arm. "You will regret this!" she shouted, lifting up the blade. Asako yelled and attacked the men again. The Tachibana Nin all pulled out their weapons, facing a very angry Asako.

One of the man aimed at her with his spear. "Get her to sleep," he said to his companions.

The others nodded.

"You will regret killing my sister!" Asako shouted at them.

Out of the sudden, all of the shinobis attacked Asako. The girl defended herself for a while but the energy left her after a few minutes. Her mind became blank for a second. One of the shinobis used his chance. He approached Asako from behind when she didn't noticed it. He hit her head hardly with the back of his sword, knocking her out. "That's it!" he said. Two men kicked Asako as she laid on the ground defenseless. They kicked and beat her up without mentioning to stop. Asako yelped in pain.  
She closed her eyes when darkness came over her. Asako let go of her sword she had held tightly. Her grip on it loosened as she got unconscious.

"Let's bring her away from here," the shinobi, who defeated Asako, said.

_**...**_

Slowly, Asako opened her eyes again. She felt a huge pain rushing through her body, her back hurt, her limbs, her head, everything hurt. Asako weakly lifted her head up, looking up to the sky, the moon shined brightly, also some single stars. Around her were a lot of trees, a forest. But an unknown forest. Asako just noticed that she was moving. No. She wasn't moving. She laid in an oxcart. Asako raised her arms, they also hurt. Her hands very chained together and the chain was attached to the cart. She weakly tried to pull on the chains, there was no use. She was caught.  
Asako closed her eyes again, the pictures of her sister and brother getting murdered came into her mind. A single tear slid down her cheek. It wasn't a bad dream, it was reality. The kunoichi opened her eyes again, she glanced around. She found her sword, her bag and a scroll in the opposite corner of the oscar. _The secret scroll..._ Asako thought surprised. The Tachibana Clan must have stolen it.

"Do you know why he wants them?"

Asako heard someone talking, it was a known voice. She turned her head around, seeing the man who had knocked her out, riding on a horse just a couple of meters away from the cart.

"No. But it's strange. What does he want with some annoying kids?" another shinobi asked.

"That's what I just asked, idiot," the other one replied.

Asako glanced back at her Katana. She reached out for it but was too far away from it. The rustling of the chains caught a shinobi's attention.

"Hey you, be a good girl and keep quiet. There is no way for you to escape," he hissed at the girl.

The girl grimaced at him. "Screw you!" she snapped.

"You dirty..." the shinobi became angry.

''Hey, calm down!" Another man said. "You will have enough time to take care about her when we arrived in the hideout," he said.

Asako took a deep breath. _I have to get out of here. I don't want to know what they are planning with me. But it must be something horrible. No Ninja would take an enemy as hostage without reason._ Asako thought. She carefully and slowly reached the back of the sole of her shoe, there was a small hole inside it. Asako carefully pulled out a long needle. She had to be quiet. Every noise of the chains would get the attention of her opponents. Asako grabbed the needle tightly and stuck it into the lock of the chain that tied her wrists to the cart. With some turns, Asako opened the lock. She glanced around, waiting for the perfect moment.  
Out of the sudden, Asako jumped over to her sword, grabbed all her things and the scroll and jumped off the oscar.

"Hey!" one man yelled. "Get her!"

Asako sprinted away from the group of enemies, deeper into the forest. "Leave me alone!" she screamed. Asako pulled out her sword of the sheath as one of the shinobis attacked her. Their blades almost hit the other one. Asako jumped back, dodging one attack. She dashed into the woods without knowing where she actually was.  
"Ah!" Asako yelped, as her back started hurting again. The injuries from the shuriken burned like fire. Asako stopped running, she had to handle the strong pain. Her enemies surrounded her again, all aiming at her with their weapons.

"Give up! Or we won't show any mercy and kill you!" the Tachibana Nin yelled.

"I want to see you try!" Asako screamed. She made some hand signs, her eyes were glowing in anger. "Takeyari no Jutsu!" she yelled. Bamboo spears shot out of the ground and drilled through the Ninja who had yelled at her just a few seconds before. They impaled him quickly. "Takerou no Jutsu!" Asako cried. More bamboo plants came out of the ground, capturing two of her opponents. "Takeyari!" she used the first Jutsu again. The two shinobi who were captured inside the bamboo prison got speared by the sharp bamboo rods.  
Asako turned around, facing three more enemies. "Now! Dokuki-..."

"My, my. What an untamed and feisty girl," a cold voice said.

The young kunoichi shivered when she heard this cold, icy, and evil voice. She didn't dare moving anymore. In other words, she couldn't even more anymore. Her body didn't move. This icy voice sent strong shivers up and down Asako's spine, a great of fear went through her. Her body started trembling. Asako let go of her sword, she let it fall to the ground. Asako's mouth hung open, she was panting and breathing heavily.

A pair of yellow eyes appeared in the shadows in front of Asako. "You must be one of the Kikuhana Clan's members. But I didn't know that the family had become so weak," the voice said. It was definitely a male voice. Footsteps could be heard. The person with this icy voice slowly stepped out of the shadows. A man with long black hair, pale skin and yellow snake-like eyes. The look of his eyes let Asako tremble in fear. Asako gulped deeply.

"Such a young girl," the man said, walking towards Asako. He opened his mouth slightly and licked his lips with his tongue. It was much longer than a normal tongue from a normal person.

Asako dropped to her knees. Her legs couldn't carry her any longer. She put her hands on the ground, propping herself up. A sharp pain hit Asako's stomach, she had to feeling to throw up every moment. She was shaking uncontrollably.

"Yes, I think you are the right one..." the yellow-eyed man paused for a moment, "Asako-chan."

* * *

**Please review :)  
**

**Sorry that I didn't update since begin of December. I was quite busy but I hope you liked the third chapter of 'Mitarashi Dango'. Again, please review. Well...this guy who just appeared..snake-like eyes, black hair...who could this be? ;)  
I hope I can update sooner this time.  
Thank you for reading :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naturo! Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto!**


End file.
